History of The Children’s Foundation of Erie County
The Children’s Foundation of Erie County has a long history of assisting and supporting the children of our community. Organized as the Buffalo Orphan Asylum in November 1836, the then Board of Trustees was dedicated to housing and financially supporting children in need in the City of Buffalo.
When the orphanage ceased operation and the building was sold in the late 1940s, the assets of the Asylum were entrusted to the Board of Trustees to be used to continue their work on behalf of the children of our community. The mission statement was:
“The Buffalo Orphan Asylum for the purpose of protecting, relieving, maintaining or assisting needy or underprivileged children of any age up to 21, of the Countyof Erie, directly or in the same or similar purposes, with the power to establish and maintain an institution for any or all of the foregoing purposes.”
The name was changed to the Children’s Foundation of Erie County in early 1960. The mission of the Foundation remains the same. Today the nine dedicated Trustees of the Foundation meet annually to review grant requests from agencies serving children throughout Erie County.